In a continuing effort to improve the quality of fresh market and shipping fruits, I, the inventor, typically hybridize a large number of nectarine, peach, apricot, plum and cherry seedlings each year. The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of cherry tree, which has been denominated varietally as xe2x80x98GLENREDxe2x80x99 cherry. The present variety resulted from a seedling hybridized by me in 1992 and planted in a cultivated area of my experimental orchard near Le Grand, Calif. in Merced County (San Joaquin Valley). The variety was a first generation cross using xe2x80x98Tularexe2x80x99 (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 6,407) cherry as the seed parent and xe2x80x98Brooksxe2x80x99 (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 6,676) cherry as the selected pollen parent. Subsequent to origination of the present variety of cherry tree, I asexually reproduced it by budding and grafting on Colt (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 4,059) cherry rootstock in the experimental orchard described above, and such reproduction of plant and fruit characteristics were true to the original plant in all respects.
The present variety is similar to its seed parent, xe2x80x98Tularexe2x80x99, by producing early maturing fruit that is full red in skin color and virtually non-doubling, but is distinguished therefrom and an improvement thereon by being more vigorous in growth with a unique horizontal limb structure and by producing fruit that is larger in size, sweeter and milder in flavor, crispier in texture, and about 8 days earlier in maturing.
The present variety is similar to its pollen seed parent, xe2x80x98Brooksxe2x80x99, by producing early maturing fruit that is large, full red in skin color, and virtually non-doubling, but is distinguished therefrom and an improvement thereon by blooming about one week earlier, by possessing the natural horizontal limb structure and by producing fruit that is darker in flesh color, has a much longer stem, ripens about 4 days earlier and is considerably more resistant to skin cracking due to rain.